IAEA has “agreements” with Russians on ZNPP
10 June 13:43
Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said that during his talks with Russian officials he had not received clear guarantees that they would not restart the seized Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant. At the same time, he emphasized that under current circumstances, restarting the plant would be inappropriate and should be avoided. The IAEA chief said this at a press conference on June 9, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
Grossi noted that he had held detailed talks with Russian representatives during a meeting in Kaliningrad on June 6, where the issue of restarting ZNPP was one of the central ones.
“They didn’t make any promises, so to speak, but I think we have an agreement, or at least the circumstances are such that in the current situation they will not launch the Zaporizhzhya plant, taking into account a number of factors,”
– said the IAEA Director General.
Among these factors, Grossi named the military situation and technical problems, including a lack of water to cool the reactors and insufficient external power supply.
The IAEA Director also noted that the Russian side has demonstrated certain plans for the future restart of the plant, but this issue is linked to broader negotiations that are ongoing.
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Russians see the agreements differently
It is worth noting that the Russian side interprets the “agreements” reached with the IAEA somewhat differently. As reported by , Russia is building a floating pumping station for the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP. And it is doing this precisely with the aim of putting the plant into operation in stages.
Recently, the Russian corporation Rosatom publicly shared these plans, noting that the IAEA is aware of them and even supports them.
“Representatives of the Russian delegation and partners from the IAEA are united on this issue,”
– rosatom wrote.
So, perhaps in this context, it is worth paying attention to Grossi’s clarification “in the current situation.” If, for example, the situation changes to the extent that the Russians are ready to launch the ZNPP, the IAEA will give the go-ahead.
ZNPP
Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and the third largest in the world by total capacity. Located in the Zaporizhzhia region near the city of Enerhodar, it consists of six nuclear power units of 1 GW each. Its construction began in 1981, and the first unit was commissioned in 1984. The last unit, the sixth, was commissioned in 1995.
ZNPP annually produced about 40 billion kWh of electricity, which was about 20% of Ukraine’s total power generation. It is also the first nuclear power plant in the country to have a dry spent fuel storage facility.
The Russian army seized ZNPP on the night of March 4, 2022, after shelling the nuclear facility. Russia has also occupied the city of Enerhodar, near which the nuclear power plant is located.
Since the beginning of the Russian occupation, Zaporizhzhia NPP has experienced eight full blackouts and one partial blackout, with the launch of emergency diesel generators and safety systems. According to Energoatom, their failure threatens to cause an emergency.
The last time the plant faced a blackout was on August 23 last year.
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